Ayam Masak Bali (Balinese-Style Chicken Curry)

There are many curry recipes; being a Malaysian, I love all of them and enjoy experimenting and trying out as many recipes as I can source. Ayam Masak Bali is spicy stew/curry recipe; is from Bali, Indonesia and is adapted from Mat Gebu of Dapur Tanpa Sempadan. The original recipe is made without pineapples.

Serves 4; Preparation & Cooking time: ±1.5 hrs

750g chicken, cut into large pcs or chicken thigh fillet, cut into large chunks

1 heaped tsp turmeric powder

¾ tsp salt

6 stalks lemongrass, slightly crushed

4 sprigs curry leaves

1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce

1/3 cup chilli paste

1 flat tbsp sugar (or to taste)

salt to taste

½ cup water

100g pineapple chunks with 2 tbsp of its syrup – optional

Paste Ingredients:

4 onions, peeled and chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 ½ cm ginger, peeled and chopped

1 ¼ cm toasted belacan or 1 tsp belacan paste

Preparation:

Put chicken, turmeric powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix well and leave aside for at least 15 mins.

Meanwhile, put all paste ingredients into a blender and grind till a fine paste (or use a mortar and pestle). Remove and put aside.

Deepfry chicken pcs till half-cooked but not crispy. (Shallowfrying on medium heat with cover for abt 15 mins would be fine too.) Remove and set aside to drain off excess oil. (I used thigh fillet and didn’t deepfry or shallowfry.)

In the same pan or wok, remove most of the oil and leave abt ¼ cup oil.

Stirfry lemongrass till fragrant, then add in curry leaves and fry lemongrass and curry leaves for a few mins.

Add in blended paste and chilli paste. Stir to mix evenly.

Leave to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, till fragrant and an oil layer is formed.